THE RETREAT FROM MOSCOW CAST

Alice............................................................................................. Linda Stephens*
Edward.............................................................................................. Peter Silbert*
Jamie.................................................................................................. Eddie Collins

*member of Actors' Equity Association

Eddie Collins Jamie Eddie is excited to make his Next Act debut.  He has called Wisconsin home for the last year and a half while working with American Players Theatre and Milwaukee Rep, where he was most recently seen as Jack in LAUGHING STOCK.  He has worked regionally at Texas Shakespeare Festival, Mill Mountain Theatre, Wayside Theatre and numerous New Orleans theatres whose futures are now uncertain.  He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Wayne State University’s Hilberry Theatre.

Peter Silbert Edward Peter Silbert is delighted to make his Next Act debut.  He is a member of the acting co. at the Milwaukee Rep where he has appeared in many shows.  Among them:  A FLEA IN HER EAR, LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN, THE CRUCIBLE, PROOF, SILENCE, MARY STUART , RICHARD III  and THE MAGIC FIRE.  He moved here in 2003 from Seattle where he lived for 23 years and now makes Milwaukee his home.  Other theatres he has worked at include:  Seattle Rep, ACT Theatre, Intiman Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, The Huntington, Arizona Theatre Co., Oregon and Utah Shakespeare Festivals, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, and The Alley Theatre.

Linda Stephens Alice Linda Stephens is making her Next Act debut, after playing at the Skylight in ANIMAL CRACKERS, and Milwaukee Chamber Theatre in BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS. Among the roles she played at The Rep are Daisy in DRIVING MISS DAISY, and Linda in DEATH OF A SALESMAN.  On Broadway, she played Meg, in the revival of DAMN YANKEES, Daisy in THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER, and Kate in ALL MY SONS.  At Chicago’s Goodman, and NY’s Public theatres, she was heralded for her role in WINGS. TV appearances include LAW AND ORDER SVU, SPIN CITYand FRASIER.

C. Michael Wright Director After eight years as Next Act’s Associate Artistic Director, Michael just recently became the new Artistic Director of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. Since moving to Wisconsin in 1988, Michael has directed over 50 productions. Most recently he directed “MASTER HAROLD”…and the boys and STONES IN HIS POCKETS at Next Act, THE SYRINGA TREE at Renaissance Theaterworks, THE FANTASTICKS at Skylight Opera Theatre, A WALK IN THE WOODS and LOBBY HERO at Madison Repertory Theatre and VISITING MR. GREEN at Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach, Florida. Later this season he will be directing THE SYRINGA TREE for Delaware Theatre Company. Michael has also been acting professionally for 29 years. Recent performances include TWELFTH NIGHT, CYMBELINE and OTHELLO at American Players Theatre. THE TEMPEST at Milwaukee Shakespeare, BRAVO, CARUSO! at Next Act, MEMOIR at Renaissance Theaterworks and THE LARAMIE PROJECT at Madison Repertory Theatre. He will be seen as Sancho Panza in Skylight Opera Theatre’s MAN OF LA MANCHA this spring.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

William Nicholson

Nicholson joined BBC television after college, where he worked as a documentary filmmake. There his ambition to write, directed first into novels, was channeled into television drama. His teleplays include SHADOWLANDS (based on the life of C.S. Lewis), SWEET AS YOU ARE, and LIFE STORY. All three won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for Best Single Drama. In 1988, he recieved the Royal Television Society's Writer's Award. His first play, an adaptation of SHADOWLANDS for the stage, was the Evening Standard's Best Play of 1990, and went on to a Tony Award-winning run on Broadway. He was nominated for an Academy Award for the screenplay of the film version, which was directed by Richard Attenborough and starred Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. Since then he had written more films including SARAFINA; NELL; FIRST KNIGHT; GREY OWL; FIRELIGHT; and GLADIATOR (as co-writer), for which he received a second Academy Award nomination. Other plays of his include MAP OF THE HEART and KATHERINE HOWARD. His novel for older children, THE WIND SINGER, won the Smarties Prize Gold Award on publication in 2000, and the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award in 2001. Its sequel, SLAVES OF THE MASTERY was published in May 2001, and the final volume in the trilogy, FIRESONG, in May 2002. He lives in Sussex, England with his wife Virginia and their three children.